Telephone-cabinet.



F. L. DEAN.

TELEPHONE CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED Nov.2I. 1911.

F. L. DEAN.

TELEPHONE CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2l, |917. 1,278,870. Patented sept. 17,1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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f. v /M OFFICE.

FRANK L. DEAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

TELEPHONE-CABINET.

Application filed November 21, 1917.

`To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK L. DEAN, a citizenv of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Telephone Cabinets, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to cabinets for telephones. It has for its principal objects the provision of an article of household furniture which may be of small compass and of neat and ornamental appearance; in which the telephone when not in use will be entirely concealed in which the telephone may be installed for use or completely separated therefrom conveniently and at will without interrupting the telephone service; in which a table is'also provided upon which the telephone as well as other articles may rest, and on which writing may be done; in which there is an extensible seat which normally occupies only the floor space of the cabinet and table when the seat is not in use; and, on the whole, a device which is adapted to afford security to the telephone, convenience to the user and which contributes to theneat and orderly arrangement of the household utilities involved. Other, objects and advantages will appear hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings which forma part of this specification I have illustrated a preferred and a modified form of the improvements set forth, in which drawings Figure 1 is a face view of the device with the door open;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section as on the line 2 2 of Fig. i;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section as on the line 3-3 of Fig. l; y

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragment showing i in end view one of the two horizontal extensible slide members and the connection of its several parts to adjacent structures;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section as on the line 5*5 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 6 is a similar vertical section to that of Fig. 5, but on a reduced scale, showing the modified form of the device. v

The preferred form comprises a top 10 normally about table-top height from the floor, and constitutes iii itself a table top. Beneath the top 10 are the walls 11, 12 vand 13 mortised into the four legs 14 adapted to rest upon the floor. A bottom 15 is se- Specificatioii of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 17, 1918.

seriaiNo. 203,251.

cured to the side walls of the cabinet'or to the legs 14 in any approved way. Within the cabinet I preferably provide a partition 16 dividing the same into a compartment for the telephone and a compartment for the directories. The door 17 is hinged as at 18 and covers the door opening when the device is not in use, a hand operable spring latch 20 maintaining it in closed position.

Beneath the cabinet I provide a pair of horizontal telescopically extensible members each comprising a pair of metallic bar-like stampings 22 Vand 23 substantially U-shaped in cross section but having the free ends turned inward to interfit with the neck 24 of the metallic bar 25. This bar 25 has enlarged ends at 26 and 27 adapted to engage pins 28 and 29 respectively inthe members 23 and 22 respectively thus limit-ing the outward extensibility of these members. The parts 23 are severally rigidly secured to cleats 30, as by means of wood screws 31, to the device, as to the side walls 12 and 13 respectively, the members 22 respectively beotherwise secured into orvupon the seat legs 35, thus maintaining the outer or free ends of the extensible members in fixedv relation to each other. Y

The extensible members constitute a rest for a seat 34 in the preferred form and 40 in the modified form, which seat rest is movable outward through the extensibility of the parts 22, 23 and 25, and inward into a position beneath the cabinet and occupying the space outlined by the legs 14, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

The door 17, Fig. 1, has sufficient depth to cover end portions 0f the extensible meinbers, the upper ends of the legs, etc., whereby when the spring catch 20 is in holding engagement with the post 14 thereat, as shown in Fig. 3, the structures constituting the seat mechanism and the seat itself are locked against movement outwardly, and the device as a whole may conveniently be moved about from place to place within the limits of the telephone cord, as for periodic house cleanings or desired changes in location for ornamental or other purposes.

In order that the telephone may be installed or removed conveniently at will and without disconnecting the wires I provide an opening 37 in one of the walls of the cabinet, preferably the bottom wall as illustrated, and extending to the door opening whereby when the door is in open position and the seat is extended, as viewed in Fig. 5, the telephone cord may be inserted between the intermediate slide member 25 and the post 1% thereat, this intermediate bar 25 being spaced from the post, and, as the sliding connections are not particularly tight, the extended seat structure may be moved laterally somewhat to give further clearance. The cord then naturally enters the opening 37 attlie door opening and is moved around bach of the post, as well seen in Fig. 3, where it is substantially locked in an out-ofthe-way position. Ordinarily, the telephone cord will be passed under one or more legs le of the device according to the direction in which the cord is desired to extend.

Upon the door 17 I preferably provide a receptacle 3S for paper and a trough 39 for pencils for the use of a. person taking a telephone message. v

Then using the device the door 17 is opened, the seat withdrawn, the user sitting thereon, and the telephone may then be 1 simply held in the hand, or may be rested upon the table top 10, which table top is also available for writing uponY the paper taken from the pocket 38. Upon having finished the conversation the telephone is replaced, the seat device pushed back into itsV out-of-the-way position and the door 17 closed. c

In the device of Fig. 6 all of the parts are Y to be considered the same as those hereinabove described with the exception of the door 40, which is hinged at-Lil and is adapted to swing outward and downward into its fullV line position shown, the door L10 thus constituting a seat for the device. In this modification the fixed seat 34: of the preferred form is omitted.

Inasmuch as the present device serves the purpose of a table or stand desirable in living rooms, bedrooms, or hallways, and sinceV in many places of limited area it is inconvenient to provide an extra chair or to move a chair to the telephone location, the present improvements are highly advantageous in supplying in a notably compact form the combined utilities of table or stand, booth for holding and `concealing they telephone and directories, and a seat which has an out-of- Copies of this patent may be obtained for the-way position occupying no floor space other than that of the table or stand when the seat is not in position for use.

I have herein illustrated the device in a simple forni. In practice it is made to conform ornainentally to various schematic eects, such as period furniture designs.

I claim: p

1. An article of household furniture compiising phone, said cabinet having a top wall and a bottom wall, the top wall being at approximately table top Vheight from the floor and the bottom wall at approximately chairl seat height from the floor, legs for supporting said cabinet upon the floor, a movable seat immediately beneath the bottom wall of the cabinet in one position, a pair of extensible telescopic members having a limited extension carried by the device at opposite side portions thereof, said extensible members carrying said seat whereby the seat may be withdrawn for use from beneath the cabinet, a pair of legs carried by the outer end portions of the extensible members for supporting said outer ends, said cabinet having a door opening therein and a door for said opening, the arrangement being such that a telephone may be removed from the cabinet and placed upon the top thereof and used by a person positioned on the extended seat.

cabinet isy substanphone the top of vwhich the floor, means for tially table height from supporting the cabinet upon the floor, a pair floor, said telescopic members having means l limiting their voutward extension, a support secured to the outer end of each of said telescopic members and adapted to rest upon the floor to support the outer end of said members respectively, said extensible members being adapted to form a rest for a seat when extended, a door for said cabinet adapted to open and close a door opening therein, a bottom for the cabinet, an opening in one of the cabinet walls adjacent to the door opening 4and extending to the door opening for a telephone cord whereby when the door is opened the telephone cord may be positioned in or removed from said cord Washington, D. G.

walls forming a cabinet for a tele- An article of household furniture comprising walls forming a cabinet for a tele-Y ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, 

